Thursday premieres: Big night, big shows and “Big Shots”

Thursday was a big night of big shows and a not-so-big debut for ABC’s "Big Shots." (pictured left)

ABC’s "Grey’s Anatomy" and CBS’ "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" returned to their familiar duel positions at 9 p.m., with "Grey’s" leading the night in adults 18-49 while "CSI" had total-viewer tonnage. Both "Grey’s" and "CSI" flexed their muscles by spiking from their 8 p.m. lead-ins.

"Grey’s" (pictured below left) finished out with 20.5 million viewers and 8.7 rating/21 share in 18-49. "CSI" (pictured below right) brought in 24.9 million viewers and 8.0/19 in the key demo, per prelim Nielsens.

"Survivor: China" was soft, by the show’s past standard, but still dominated in the 8 p.m. hour with 14.2 million viewers and 4.6/13 in 18-49. ABC’s "Ugly Betty" (11 million, 3.8/11) was a solid No. 2 in the hour, posting its best figures since February.

At 10 p.m., "Big Shots" (inevitably) slid from its "Grey’s" lead-in to open with 11.6 million viewers and 4.7/13 in 18-49. The return of CBS’ "Without a Trace" (16.7 million, 4.8/13) to its longtime home adjacent to "CSI" did wonders for that show, allowing it to squeak past the "Big Shots" preem by the slimmest of margins in 18-49.